Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, (Wednesday, 18 October 2023), at the start of his meeting with US
President Joe Biden:
"Mr. President, Joe, I want to
thank you for coming here today and for the unequivocal support you have given
Israel during these trying times. A support that reflects the overwhelming will
of the American people. I have seen your support every day in the depth and
breath of cooperation that we have had since the beginning of this war. A level
of cooperation that is truly unprecedented in the history of the great alliance
between our two nations. We see that support in your steadfast commitment to
provide Israel with the tools we need to defend ourselves, we see that support
in the clear message you send our enemies not to test our resolve and in the
two American carrier battle groups you sent into the region to back up those
words with action.
“But above all, Mr. President, the
world sees that support in the moral clarity that you have demonstrated from
the moment that Israel was attacked. You have rightly drawn a clear line
between the forces of civilization and the forces of barbarism. You described what
Hamas did as sheer evil. It is exactly that. Hamas murdered children in front
of their parents and parents in front of their children, they burnt people
alive, they raped and murdered women, they beheaded soldiers, they searched for
the secret hiding places where parents hid their children. Just imagine, Mr.
President, the fear and the panic of those little children in their last
moments as the monsters discovered, found out their secret hiding places. Hamas
kidnapped women, children, elderly, Holocaust survivors. I know you share our
outrage on this and I know you share our determination to bring these people
back.
“On October 7th, Hamas murdered
1,400 Israelis. Maybe more. This is in a country of fewer than 10 million
people. This would be equivalent to over 50,000 Americans murdered in a single
day. That’s twenty 9/11s. That is why October 7th is another day that will live
in infamy.
“Mr. President, you rightly said
that Hamas is worse than ISIS. The German Chancellor, who visited here
yesterday, said that Hamas were the new Nazis. You’re both right. And just as
the civilized world united to defeat the Nazis and united to defeat ISIS, the
civilized world must unite to defeat Hamas. I can assure you, Mr. President,
Israel is united to defeat Hamas and we will defeat Hamas and remove this
terrible threat from our lives. The forces of civilization will prevail, for
our sake, for your sake, for peace and security in our region and in the world.
“Mr. President, for the people of
Israel there is only one thing better than having a true friend like you
standing with Israel and that is having you standing in Israel. Your visit here
is the first visit of an American president in Israel in a time of war. It is
deeply, deeply moving. It speaks to the depth of your personal commitment to
Israel. It speaks to the depth of your personal commitment to the future of the
Jewish people and the one and only Jewish state. So I know I speak for all the
people of Israel when I say thank you, Mr. President. Thank you for standing
with Israel today, tomorrow and always."